Hike your way to happiness

The other day a friend and myself spent 3 hours preparing to do
an overnight hike. We packed a huge range of things into two large
rucksacks – things to keep us warm, to cook with, to keep
us dry, to stop us from getting lost. In fact, all things that I
would already have if I stayed at home.

We then had my wife's father drive us 20 miles from my house and
we walked back. And not the shortest route either. Or the flattest.
In fact, we went out of our way to make the walk as arduous as possible.

So why did we do it?

It’s a question we pondered as we laboured along under 40
pounds of load, peering bleary-eyed through sweat at the magnificent
scenery around us. Why would two grown men, both reasonably sensible
at other times, load themselves up like pack mules and ask to be
abandoned miles from home?

And as we mulled it over, we started discussing the fact that much
of modern life is geared towards making things easier. And there
are many benefits to that:

hot water straight from the tap, no campfire required

heat on demand, no shivering necessary

light at the flick of a switch to extend your day as long
as you want

food all in one place so you don’t have to hunt all
over

No-one would argue that these are advances that have left us able
to conduct more comfortable, fulfilling and hopefully useful lives.

But what happens when we take it to extremes? We must remember
that human beings have developed to struggle and overcome. Nature/God/evolution
has enabled us to progress this far by ensuring we feel good when
we reach a goal or solve a problem.

Our brains and bodies have evolved a wonderfully subtle built-in
reward system to keep us achieving. Be it climbing a mountain or
cleaning the house, our biology makes us feel good in order to keep
us trying.

A vacuum of effort, meaning - and happiness?

So what happens when people stop making effort? When they stop stretching
themselves? Take lottery winners for example; a year after their
win, their happiness levels are the same as before it. Happiness
does not come from having lots of money. Happiness comes from leading
a satisfying life despite the fact that you have lots of money and
can afford to sit around and do nothing.

In fact, with a little thought it is obvious that happiness does
not come from the things that many of us in the West focus on every
day. There are millions of happy people around the World who have
little in material terms.

Why did we put ourselves through all that suffering?

So why go through step after step, mile after mile of burning muscles
and aching backs? Because it made us feel good. And it made us feel
good because:

we set and achieved a goal

we completed something arduous enough to stretch us and expand
our perceptions of our own capabilities

the exercise released serotonin, and that combined with the
exhaustion made us sleep better

we ached for days, reminding us of just how hard we had worked

Of course our friends and family have stopped talking to us because
we won’t shut up about how tough we are, but that’s
a small price to pay. ;-)

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